With another school year almost over, Lisbon already has Bicycle Trains in 15 of the city's schools. Interested parents can still sign up their children for this free program.
Despite the late start this school year, due to bureaucratic issues, the municipal Bicycle Trains - promoted by the Lisbon City Council with the operational support of the cooperative Bicycling - already involves 15 schools in the city of Lisbon. Six new Trains have been launched in recent months and registration is always open.
There are already trains at the following schools:
- Parque das Nações Elementary School (CB1)
- Pedro Arrupe College (CB2)
- Dona Filipa de Lencastre School Group (CB3)
- Bairro do Restelo Elementary School (CB4)
- EB2,3 Telheiras (CB5)
- Lisbon German School (CB6)
- Sarah Afonso Primary School (CB7)
- Paulino Montez Primary School (CB8)
- Jardim-Escola João de Deus (CB9)
- EB2,3 de Paula Vicente (CB10)
- Sacred Heart of Mary College (CB11)
- São Miguel Neighborhood EB (CB12)
- EB1 Telheiras (CB13)
- EB São Vicente Telheiras (CB14)
- EB Eugénio dos Santos (CB15)
Despite the fact that the school year is almost over, parents interested in you can still register your childrenThis program is free of charge.
Generally, each train runs at least once a week, but there are schools where there is more than one line, i.e. routes starting in different areas of the city. This is, for example, the case of the German School in Telheiras, which has trains on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from different points in order to serve more children. There are also lines in the Telheiras neighborhood that already serve different schools.
As we told you in this reportTrains and their lines are adjusted to the demand and registrations received, so they can be changed halfway through to include a new child. The routes and timetables are communicated to parents when they register their children. After registering, parents and guardians are contacted by telephone in order to integrate the new child into the train.
Each train will have at least one driver (adult monitor) for every four passengers (children). Drivers can be members of the program, parents or other volunteers who join as drivers (trained for this purpose) or members of local partner organizations. Each train has a WhatsApp group where parents and guardians share practical information and the location of the train in real time. Personal accident and liability insurance is taken out for each participant.
There are a few simple rules that passengers (children) have to follow as a condition of joining the Bicycle Trains:
- Go in single file with your colleagues, without overtaking;
- Pay attention to what the drivers say, do what they say and don't overtake the driver in front;
- Pay close attention to junctions. Slow down and pay more attention to the road when approaching a junction.
It is also important that children's bikes are in good working order, i.e. the brakes are working properly, the tires are inflated and the saddle is at an appropriate height (with the feet reaching the ground, but without the legs being bent). The last two conditions help ensure that the passenger doesn't have to exert excessive effort and possibly become discouraged for future occasions.
